and yes, there will be a part III. I have, as usual, a lot to say. 

After my wonderful weekend in Birmingham I caught the plane back to Philadelphia. Unfortunately a mechanical problem caused a delay in my first flight which meant I missed my connection through Detroit, and I so I got to spend a lovely 4 hours napping at the Detroit Airport Holiday Inn. The first flight in to Philly the next morning put in in town at 8:30 and then I rented a car and drove down to Virginia to see some great friends and their ponies. 

Sara Bilinski is one of the first friends I made in the USA, when I was a working student for Lars Petersen and she was a client. Sara is a beautiful rider, an exceptional horsewoman, and simply a great person. I was thrilled to see her new setup near Leesburg, VA. At the beautiful new farm she runs her business from, Sara has a barn full of gorgeous, talented sales and training horses and very nice people. I'm familiar with one of her young prospects, a Damon Hill gelding that I find absolutely stunning. This is the kind of horse that you fall in love with in the barn, and when you see him moving he's just breathtaking. Sara has done a wonderful job with him since his arrival in the States, and it was fun to watch them work and offer some ideas. We then worked with a few other youngsters over cavaletti. This is when my other incredible friends, Courtney & Benny Pfabe, joined us. 

It's been over two years since I've seen Courtney & Benny, and I've missed them terribly. You would be hard pressed to meet two more wonderful, genuine people. Courtney rode her gelding Zazu in a cavaletti lesson with me. She bred this horse and has been his person since day one, and the bond and harmony between them is so evident. He's been brought along beautifully and patiently, and his trust in his rider was obvious as she piloted him around the new (to him) arena and over the cavaletti. Courtney battles chronic Lyme disease and is undergoing treatment which exhausts her quickly and makes her feel, quite simply, like shit. I was more than a little bit worried about her energy level while riding, but as beautiful and gentle as Courtney is, she is also tough as nails and made it through an hour long ride, making it look easy with perfect position and timing. If I could only ride once each month while battling one helluva illness I doubt I would have the ability to make it look so easy! 

And here, since it's my website and I can say whatever I want, I'm going to take a minute or two to offer some non-horsey related educational links. Like most of the population, I knew very little about Lyme until Courtney helped me understand the depth of this disease.  As horse people, we are very much exposed to this disease simply by the nature of our work, yet overall I think we are poorly educated about the problem. After watching the movie Under Our Skin I was shocked and moved. I've encouraged and maybe badgered people to see this movie as I think it sheds much needed light on the subject. You, dear reader, are now being encouraged to see this movie. See it, see it, see it. You can buy a DVD, you can look for it in select theaters.  There is so much more to this disease than two weeks of antibiotics and then case closed. 

Two other links you can go to are www.ILADS.Org and www.Jemsekspecialty.com The second link is Courtney's amazing doctor, who is featured in the movie Under Our Skin. This man has been persecuted for thinking outside the box in his treatment for chronic Lyme, even though (or perhaps because) he has had enormous success where others have given up or failed. 

So, with one last request to you to learn just a little bit more about Lyme Disease, I will now dismount from my soap-box and get back to horses and holidays. 

After the lessons I had spent the evening and the following day visiting with my great friends before making the drive to Baltimore. There, yet another great friend was able to make some time for me. Anne Millman and I met at the first Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium five years ago. It was one of those brief, chance meetings (60 or so new people to me that weekend, lots of new faces to meet & remember) that lead to a great friendship. With Anne I spent a very relaxing time, eating, drinking, way too much shopping, and catching up. It was really time off well spent!

Leaving Baltimore Thursday morning, I stopped by for a quick lunch in Kennet Square, PA, then it was off to the 2009 Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium (YDHTS) at Riveredge in Chesapeake City, MD. 

Ah, Symposium. This has to be one of the highlights every year for me. I've been to every Symposium for five years now, and I have never left thinking 'this will be the last year for me.' As long as this event is offered, I will probably be there. The last two years in Germany I have planned  my holidays around attending. I admit, this year as I was making my holiday plans I thought to myself that this may be my last year going. Really, I live in Germany, the heart of horse breeding, training, and business. Do I need to fly over the ocean for a training clinic? Well, hell yes I do. 

This is no ordinary clinic. It's 50-60 young horse trainers in a real training environment. The goal is not to make it look only pretty and easy for spectators. The goal is to address real training issues that arise. We talk openly about problems and solutions. We question, discuss, and act. There is no competition, no judgement, no prizes, no spectators. Only training (and fun, but I'll get to that later). The riders every year are very courageous, riding in front of so many peers, putting themselves up there as examples of what can go right or wrong and allowing the rest of us to work with them. I rode in the second year of Symposium and HATED IT. I rode like shit, my horse was sensitive to my nerves (did I mention I was nervous of making an ass of myself in front of so many trainers? Self-fulfilling prophecy for sure) and behaved like something I'd never ridden before, and it was just overall a shit weekend for me. I was a bit traumatized and left feeling very sorry for myself. But the good thing is, it was a catalyst that began a lot of positive change for me & my riding. So I always have 100% respect for the riders of the weekend, regardless of how their horses perform. 

Symposium this year was once again led by Scott Hassler and Ingo Pape. These two men are a great team in this program, and between them offer much depth and experience in training young horses. This year, they asked me if I would be willing to share some of my cavaletti knowledge with the group. I said I happily would, but was actually afraid of publicly shitting my pants, remembering the embarrassment of riding a few years back. If I can look that stupid on a horse, what might I do while trying to instruct?! What if all the amazing information I've learned from Ingrid came out as gobbledygook and I made Ingrid look stupid by association? Oh dear.

Not to worry though. It was a low-key, fun thing to do. I taught a group of three year olds, and then individually a four year old, and a five year old. All the riders were totally game, the horses were handy, and the group was supportive and encouraging. I'm not sure they could see I might puke from nerves at any given moment, but they made me feel relaxed, like I was just helping some friends trot and canter over some poles on the ground. Whew! I do hope that people took something away from it and will have some fun over the long winter months with the cavaletti. Really, if I can learn how to do it, anyone can.

Besides the great training tips learned at Symposium, it is also a place to have fun and meet new people. Over the past five years I've met so many really amazing people in the business, and this year was no exception. This is one of the main reasons I will continue to come back for the event. Unlike most of the trainers there, I don't get to bump into my friends at shows anymore. So this is like a reunion for me, the one time in the year I'm guaranteed to see so many of my friends. We learn together, and then we party together. It's pretty funny to see the look on the faces of the locals at the Chesapeake Inn bar as 60 or so, mostly type A personalities, take over the dance floor on Saturday night and cut loose. Once again there was a great live band to lead us astray, and that's about all I can tell you. The rest of the details are not to be shared since, well, you had to be there.  

Sunday mornings are always a little quiet at Symposium, but still with great training to be had. This year I had to leave early, at 10:00, to catch a plane to my next destination. I was sad to have Symposium over once again, but definitely determined to return next year. Wrapping up Symposium talk, I have to thank Hassler Dressage and Harmony Sporthorses for once again making this amazing weekend possible. I can't imagine what it costs them to run this event, in money and time, and I hope they know that it is SO appreciated. 

The next stop on my tour was just outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Again, an amazing time spent, but my fingers are tired of typing so it will have to wait for the next installment....

After 2.5 weeks in the USA, I'm got home Monday and settling back in. Unfortunately my internet connection has been dodgy, so I'm slow to update. 

I HAD SUCH AN AMAZING HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!

It was busy. I landed on a Thursday, and then my time went something like this: fly to Alabama & have an amazing time. Fly back to Philadelphia (after spending the night in Detroit because of delayed flights) and get a rental car. Drive to Virginia & have an amazing time. Drive to Baltimore & have an amazing time. Drive to Chesapeake City for the Young Dressage Horse Trainers Symposium & have an amazing time. Return rental car and fly to Kentucky & have an amazing time. Fly back to Philly, get another rental & yep, have an amazing time.  And before I can get bored, fly back to Germany and get the hell back to work!

Yesterday, my first day back in the saddle, I rode 11 horses then taught two lessons. Today I felt like I'd been in a car accident. It's amazing how fast I can lose fitness, but I'm hoping it will come back as fast.

I will give a small update on the first part of my trip now, then fill in more over the next days.

The first stop was in Birmingham, Alabama. I taught a clinic at Lisa Smith's place and, as everyone who's talked to me since knows, absolutely loved it. This is the first time I've been there, and the first time I've met Lisa. The familiar face to me at this farm was the one and only Davignport. Lisa and I got in touch after she bought DP at the auction, and she invited me down.

First of all, what a beautiful facility. Everything is picture perfect and it's filled with gorgeous, happy horses. Lisa and her husband were perfect hosts, and all of the people I met that weekend made me think that "southern charm" is actually a real thing instead of what we fast-talking northerners think of as a disguise of some sort. There were many gorgeous horses and very good riding. Of course it was working with DP again that was the highlight for me.

Lisa warmed him up Saturday and then I rode him. The only way I can describe it is to say it was like going home. I was a little nervous after not sitting on him for almost two years. That trot is pretty f'n flouncy & bouncy, and I was afraid I'd forgotten how to sit it and would look like an idiot. However, like going home after a while away, nothing was forgotten and everything was right away familiar and comforting.

My job allows me to sit on incredible horses, young & old, expensive & really expensive.  What made me both happy & sad at the same time, was to ride DP again and realize he's still my favourite. He taught me so much and I wish he could understand that he's had an enormous role in helping me get where I am today. I know him better than I've known another horse since, and that's the key I guess. When he was with me I considered him MINE. I've not put that emotional investment in any other horse sine, because I can't. When they're for sale, you just learn not to get that deep, because then it's really hard to let them go. Leaving my dog and my DP behind were the hardest things about coming to Germany, and it was clear to me once again why it was difficult. Cause he's brown awesomeness.

But, like my dog, DP has such an amazing life and is truly happy living with wonderful people, and that makes me happy.  If I can't have him, I can't imagine a better person than Lisa having that responsibility.

Anyway, that was my first stop. It was such a great experience and I hope I get to see them all again in the future. 

That's all for now. Next installment will be coming soon with more good stuff.

Cheers!

Eiren